Coke rewarded Kyle Petty's participation in the All-Star Challenge with a donation to the Victory Junction Gang Camp. Credit: Autostock

Cross' Words: All-Star

A final word on Coca-Cola and its donation to the Victory Junction Gang Camp:

If Coke had wanted to give $250,000 for the sake of the kids, it didn't have to tie Kyle Petty's inclusion in the All-Star Challenge to that generosity.

Nextel All-Star Challenge Unofficial Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Jimmie Johnson Chevy 2. Kevin Harvick Chevy 3. Jeff Gordon Chevy 4. Carl Edwards Ford 5. Ryan Newman Dodge • Complete results, click here Victory LaneJimmie Johnson celebrates his All-Star Challenge win Segment twoMichael Waltrip spins and slams the wall in segment two In the wallTony Stewart and Matt Kenseth tangle in the final segment Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

NASCAR's all-star voting is the only venue through which fans get to make a difference, and by cheapening the balloting this year each fan (again) was told that money is the difference-maker.

Coca-Cola didn't need the exposure of cutting a check to the VJGC. It didn't need the additional media coverage. It didn't need any of the good karma that some may feel toward the soda behemoth after its benevolence.

Say Anything

"Tony is always mad at somebody. I'm not gonna go out there and do the name calling like he does every week." -- Matt Kenseth, after a crash with Tony Stewart on Lap 71 of the All-Star Challenge

• Complete story, click here

"Ouch!" -- Trent Cherry, crew member on the No. 12 team after leaping from the stage (and being caught by the front stretch pavement) during pre-race introductions

And check out the Dale Earnhardt Jr. SportsCentury piece at 8 p.m. ET Monday on ESPN Classic.

"I saw it last week and thought it was really good," Junior said. "The story is the same as it's always been, but this is probably the best summarization of myself and how I feel about everything that has happened in my life. I was really happy with it.

"Driven (the one-hour VH-1 documentary from 2004) was really good but I think this is definitely the best if people want to really know who I am. There might be some things in there that I would rather have skipped. But it's all true."

Figuratively Speaking

$2.45 -- Average cost per vote in Coca-Cola's quest to get Kyle Petty in the All-Star Challenge. A pledge to donate $250,000 to the Victory Junction Gang Camp helped spur 101,966 votes for Petty, who easily out-distanced second-place Martin Truex Jr.

Fast Facts

In the wake of the Pit Crew Challenge, here are some tidbits from NASCAR's Denise Maloof:

• Corrine Mauldin -- wife of Hendrick Motorsports pit crew coach Mark Mauldin -- is the pit crew coach for Richard Childress Racing. She drills all five teams and also oversees all pit crew members' training regimens. This is her second year with RCR.

• No. 17 crew chief Robbie Reiser still drills his guys himself, using Roush Racing pit crew coach Wayne DeLoria as a backup if he can't be there. DeLoria also works out the crew in the gym. Reiser drills the team three times a week: 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

• Evernham Motorsports' pit crew coach, Greg Miller, has two former football players on his roster. Nate Bolling, jack man on the No. 10 team, was a defensive end with the Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins. Miller currently is training former Appalachian State fullback Mike Metcalf to be a tire carrier. For now, he works the catch can for the No. 19 team.

ALSO •   Send Duane your thoughts ...

Mailbag

I am getting so sick of all the crying over the Toyota issue. What makes it worse is the loudest complainer is the man responsible for the current snooze fest we call the Chase, Jack Roush. The way I see it, there are two ways to deal with the current challenges presented with Toyota coming. 1.) Keep up what you're doing (Which I would say has been a huge success) or 2.) Complain about it. Here's a man who is, in my opinion, ruining the sport more than anything any other single man can do. I am fast losing interest in this sport and it's because of Behemoths like Jack Roush, Rick Hendrick and Ray Evernham with all the backing and support.
-- Jim

Call me crazy, but does it really matter if it's Chevy, Dodge, Ford or Toyota in 2007? Heck, bring in a BMW. The Car of Tomorrow renders it all moot -- and I don't buy into the belief that once the manufacturers' stickers are on the car it'll be a Monte Carlo, Charger, Fusion or Camry. No, it'll be a Car of Tomorrow, and the last time I checked, if you race it on Sunday it still won't be for sale on Monday.

As for Roush and the rest of the multi-car teams, it's a matter of money -- and nothing is going to change that.

Pertaining to local tracks: Has DW's senility finally got the better of him? Put up a big TV screen? Bright idea. Let's face it: Without the little guys, the crop of big guys ends. I agree that it's up to the local promoters to sell their product, but at whose expense? The local race driver and fan -- which raises prices, then causes less people to participate or watch. I'll record the NASCAR races; give me some dirt slingin' any time. The shred of respect I had, albeit small, for Mr. Waltrip as a racer is now gone. My old "Tide Ride" diecast is disassembled, ready to turn into a street stock.
-- Tim

	ALSO You may recognize him from "We Wonder ..." but to some Mark Spoor is much more than the man behind the chuckles. Some people have confused him with a beloved character from "The Addams Family."  •   Check out Mark Spoor's latest from the all-star race. NASCAR.COM's Mark Spoor and Uncle Fester Frump ... separated at birth? There's no doubt Who is Mark Spoor? View Results

Wanna know where to get the best racing? Pinks on SPEED. That is reality TV in its truest form. It's not a flashy production, the camera work is good and the drama is real. For me, that's big-screen racing -- and I don't have to leave the house (or listen to ol' DW).

Hey Duane, just a few questions that NASCAR fans everywhere need answered:

1.) Who is taller Bobby Hamilton Jr. or a midget?
2.) Does Kurt Busch's IQ match his car number?
3.) Is Greg Biffle's girlfriend a member of the Texas Rollergirls Roller Derby Team?
4.) Although John Lovitz is a fine choice to replace Jared from Subway, considering Mike Helton's weight loss should he be the new face of Subway?
5.) Who would win in a street brawl, Mike Tyson or Gooch?
-- John

From the top:

1.) A thimble.
2.) Coincidence this was Question 2?
3.) Yes, and she skates under the name "Eva Brawn."
4.) Roush Racing wouldn't allow it.
5.) Robin Givens.

Up Next

Lowe's Motor Speedway |
5 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX

• The past five races at Charlotte have been won from a top-10 starting position. However, four of the past 10 races were won from outside the top 10, including one from a 37th-place starting position (Jimmie Johnson on May 23, 2003), the lowest starting position of a winner in the tracks 94-race history.

• Jimmie Johnson has won the past four races at Charlotte. No driver in NASCAR history has won five consecutive races at a superspeedway. Car owner Rick Hendrick has a record 13 wins at Lowe's, and they have been by six drivers: Johnson (five), Jeff Gordon (four), Darrell Waltrip (two), Terry Labonte (one) and Ken Schrader (one).

• Ryan Newman has started from the top five in all 10 of his races at Charlotte, the longest current streak. All 10 of his starts are fourth or better, including five Bud Poles, including four of the past six. David Pearson is the all-time pole winner at Lowe's: 14, including 11 consecutive between Fall 1973 through Fall 1978.

Inside the Numbers Career Cup starts Rank Driver No. 1. Richard Petty 1,184 2. Dave Marcis 883 3. Ricky Rudd 875 4. Terry Labonte 838 5. Darrell Waltrip 809 6. Kyle Petty 760 7. Bill Elliott 747 8. Bobby Allison 718 9. Rusty Wallace 706 10. Buddy Baker 699 11. Sterling Marlin 686 12. Ken Schrader 679 13. Dale Earnhardt 676 14. J.D. McDuffie 653 tie Michael Waltrip 653 16. Mark Martin 649 17. Buck Baker 636 18. Dale Jarrett 614 19. James Hylton 601 20. David Pearson 574

Fantasy Perspective

• Mark Martin leads full-time, active drivers with 16 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes at Charlotte. He also will make his 650th Cup start on Sunday. Bobby Labonte will make his 450th start, tying him with Cecil Gordon for 33rd place all time.

• After winning only three races in all of 2005, Dodge has won three of the first 11 races this year. Chevrolet has six victories in 2006 while Ford has just two. One year ago Ford had five victories at this point of the season.

• Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart are the only drivers who have led at least one lap in nine of the 11 races in 2006. Biffle has earned 65 lap leader bonus points, five more than Stewart. Meanwhile, Ken Schrader, Reed Sorenson and David Stremme are the only drivers who have competed in all 11 races that have yet to lead a lap.

And Finally ...

Co-worker Jason Schoellen offers these suggestions for spiffing-up the all-star festivities:

• Have a burnout contest. Give 'em 10 seconds to light up the hides and then judge 'em. Maybe even have the fans chime in ...

• Get rid of the inversion and three-segment crap. If NASCAR is looking to bring in more "fringe fans," then they need to make it simple to understand. All of these stupid rules? Nix 'em.

• Move the all-star race elsewhere. Maybe randomize it -- even if it is just among the likes of Daytona, Bristol, Talladega, Atlanta, etc. Do it so fans can see the stars shine at various venues with different challenges ...

Who wants to see an All-Star race if the drivers can't race? In the NBA All-Star Game, you see the best of the best pass, shoot and slam in style. In NASCAR's All-Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway, you get to see drivers try to pass, get loose and shoot up the racetrack into the guy next to them and then slam the wall.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.